On April 17, Beijing time, the first round of the NBA playoffs was contested. The Milwaukee Bucks, who ranked first in the regular season, are at home to the Miami Heat. Both sides suffered injuries in the game, with Alphabet Brother retreating in the first quarter and Hiro breaking his right hand in the second quarter. The Heat established their lead from the first quarter, and they have since withstood multiple pushbacks from the Bucks. The Heat defeated the Bucks 130-117 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Bucks: Alphabet brother 6 points and 3 rebounds, Middleton 33 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Portis 21 points and 8 rebounds, Holladay 16 points, 7 rebounds and 16 assists, Lopez 10 points.
Heat: Butler 35 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists, Adebayo 22 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Love 18 points and 8 rebounds, Martin 15 points, Vincent 15 points and 6 assists, Hiro 12 points.
The Heat blossomed midway through the first quarter, posting a 13-3 offensive wave to give the Heat a 12-point lead over the Bucks 24-12 at 4:31. Alphabet fell heavily to the ground during the attack, and after holding out for a few minutes, Alphabet returned to the locker room. Butler scored back-to-back points as the Heat led by 14 points at one point. The Bucks narrowed the gap late in the first quarter, and the Heat led by nine points at 33-24 in the first quarter.
Strus hit two three-pointers in the second quarter to give the Heat a 43-33 lead of 10 points. The Bucks unleashed a 9-0 offensive wave to make it 42-43 at 7:24 and the Heat called a halt. Butler returned from a timeout and returned the 12-2 offensive wave, and Love hit a 3-pointer at 4:12 to give the Heat a 55-44 lead of 11 points. After that, the two teams went back and forth, and the Heat led by 13 points at halftime, 68-55.
In the third quarter, Adebayo scored 8 of the Heat's first 10 points, and Adebayo scored a layup at 7:29 to stop the Bucks 78-64. After the timeout, the Bucks went on an 11-0 run with only three points left behind at 5:14. In the final minute, the Heat, Love and Robinson hit 3-pointers, and the Heat led the Bucks 102-88 in the third quarter.
Middleton led the Bucks to chase points in the opening period of the final quarter, hitting two free throws at 8:57 to put the Bucks trailing by eight points at 98-106. Butler and Adebayo scored four straight points to give the Heat a 115-102 lead at 5:21 as the Bucks requested a timeout. At 2:55, Lopez hit a 2+1 run, and the Bucks chased an eight-point deficit at 111-119. Martin's 3-pointer helped the Heat stabilize the situation, and Matthews responded with a 3-pointer to close the gap again. At 1:08, Vincent made a 3-100 step through Young, and then Holladay's 3-pointer again narrowed the gap to 8 points. Vincent hit a key three-pointer in the final 45 seconds to put the Heat to an end of the game at 128-117. In the end, the Heat defeated the Bucks 130-117 to open the playoffs.